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Minnow
Banned
Posts: 1110
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Lost Wages
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Mood: Embarrased Harry Reid is a Nevadan
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Al, you got me. I was taking the entire sentence into account. 
I know this is an important issue though. If I lived in Baja, it would be VOIP ALL The way, and Free to Air.
Thats a whole new subject though.
Proud husband of a legal immigrant.
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tehag
Super Nomad
Posts: 1248
Registered: 1-8-2005
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Phone stuff
By mike, I hope you mean headset. Using either your computer's built-in speakers or mike can have some annoying feedback and echoing effects.
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JZ
Elite Nomad
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Find someone with a Cingular NA plan and it will cost nothing! Man, that is the best deal ever offered.
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tehag
By mike, I hope you mean headset. Using either your computer's built-in speakers or mike can have some annoying feedback and echoing effects.
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The mike and the headphones are separate units with separate jacks on my system. I haven't had any feedback problems. I was thinking of trying the
use of the mike without the headphones, just to see if I get feedback on my system -- in case my headphones get lost, misplaced or damaged. I'm
guessing that positioning of the mike and adjusting the volume control may substantially remove the feedback problem. But as of yet I haven't tested
the idea.
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
Find someone with a Cingular NA plan and it will cost nothing! Man, that is the best deal ever offered. |
JZ, what is a Cingular NA plan?
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
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Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by RICHARDH
... The general availability of fast Internet connectivity is great news!
... |
I'm talking about fast Internet connectivity in Baja, but I guess I may have jumped to an unwarranted conclusion vis-a-vis "fast".
In the US it seems that there are about four general types of Internet connectivity:
1) DSL, a fast ("high band-width") connection provided by the local telephone company but typically only available to customers located within a
limited distance to the closest telephone switching station of some sort -- typically limited to metropolitan areas, I think. I think I've heard that
this connection may get slower if the customer has lots of neighbors using DSL.
2) dial-up telephone connection -- generally rather slow ("low band-width")
3) direct satellite link -- fast, but there is said to be a noticeable time delay between transmission and response because of the long distance the
radio signal has to travel up to the satellite and then back down to the earth. Obviously, this means that there may be a noticeable time delay
between your verbal comment via Internet telephone and the comment in response from the other party. I suppose the "blah blah blah ... OVER ..."
style of communication of ham radio operators might be appropriate just to keep the confusion down.
4) direct radio link, typically to/from a nearby mountaintop. But this is typically only part of the link to the Internet. That direct radio link
may then be feed through a satellite link, and I suppose alternatively through a DSL line or even a "dial up" line. (But if anyone is investing in
the equipment for the direct radio link, it would not seem reasonable that he/she would use a simple "dial-up" type of line for the follow-on
connection.)
So, after that general introduction for context, does anyone (Al G or anyone) know the typical connections that Internet cafes use? And are they
typically fast, high band-width connections? And in particular, do Internet cafes in Baja typically use direct satellite connectivity to the
Internet? Or do they use some sort of telephone connectivity?
I imagine that most of Baja's telephone systems must be connected by microwave, especially for "remote" towns like San Ignacio. And I am guessing
that the microwave technology used may possibly allow more flexible high-band-width alternatives than is typical in the U.S. Any comments on that?
By the way, if I'm mistaken in any of my comments, please feel free to correct and clarify.
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meme
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I would assume that the Internet Cafes in town (San Felipe) would be using Telnor DSL. North of town some of the resturants have Satellite
Connections, like Hughes. But some of us have DSL also from Telnor, tho our phone systems( Eldorado) have signal antennas from houses toTelnor Tower
at EDR main entrance. I used to have Direcway(now Hughes) but have now switched to Telnor DSL as it's cheaper plus you then have a telephone.
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Al G
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2647
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Location: Todos Santos/Full time for now...
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Mood: Wondering what is next???
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RichardH...I am only going to comment on a few DSL café's systems...I did not ask anyone, but base my opinions on performance at a few places I have
used. There is no cafés that I know(hope to hear from someone who knows some) that use static IP address...mucho bandwith...seems to be all virtual
and those seem to be in the 480/1.5mb range(standard USA home mid range) these are good performance for the topic here. What you have to watch for is
trriffic...to many people sharing the bandwidth to make voip work...or anything except email.
If you have to use a café' with satellite up-link do you calling in the morning or weekend Mex5 is way overloaded. Heard of a new one that I am
checking out..
Last and best is what I use at home Express Card cell uplink should be in Baja soon....
Alberto
[Edited on 1-17-2007 by Al G]
Albert G
Remember, if you haven\'t got a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, then you are just a sour old fart!....
The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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meme and Al G, many thanks!
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Dave
Elite Nomad
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cingular and verizon both have a NA (North American) plan. For 47.00/month we can call Canada, US and Mexico. We have the cheapest plan
(min.available) and there is no way we can use them all. The last I heard was that Cingular wasn't selling the plan in California....that is unless
you are blond, young and pretty and flirt with the salesman. We got the Verizon in Colorado and I also heard of people who recently bought the
Cingular plan in Arizona.
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FARASHA
Senior Nomad
Posts: 848
Registered: 6-3-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Dave
The last I heard was that Cingular wasn't selling the plan in California....that is unless you are blond, young and pretty and flirt with the
salesman. |
 should give it a try then, fullfilling not exactly ALL requirements,
but..could give it a try  >f<
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JZ
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 10-3-2003
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If you can get the Cingular NA plan in AZ run, don't walk, to sign up. It is much better than Verizon's plan.
No long distance, no roaming to call to OR from Mexico. Verizon charges hefty roaming fees depending on the area, plus generally Verizon (Movistar
partner) cell coverage is very poor compared to Cingular's (Telcel partner)
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
If you can get the Cingular NA plan in AZ run, don't walk, to sign up. It is much better than Verizon's plan.
No long distance, no roaming to call to OR from Mexico. Verizon charges hefty roaming fees depending on the area, plus generally Verizon (Movistar
partner) cell coverage is very poor compared to Cingular's (Telcel partner) |
JZ, is Cingular's coverage also better for "remote" desert regions, such as many miles from the nearest city or town in Nevada? The one thing I've
considered pretty good about Verizon is that I can frequently make telephone calls in Nevada far from any cities or towns. The only requirement seems
to be that, if calling from a valley, a "regular" paved (U.S.?) highway should run through the valley somewhere; calling from remote mountaintops in
Nevada is probably even better.
When I took a look at Cingular's coverage map, the coverage areas seemed skimpier than Verizon's, but I also get the impression that the actual useful
coverage for Verizon may be significantly larger than shown on the map. I wonder if the same sort of thing is true for Cingular's coverage vis-a-vis
coverage map. So, I'm thinking that the coverage maps just may not be good for comparison purposes way out in remote areas. Any comments on that?
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Minnow
Banned
Posts: 1110
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Lost Wages
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Mood: Embarrased Harry Reid is a Nevadan
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Richard, In your original post you made it seem like you just wanted to make a few calls on a trip. The many questions now make it seem like you want
to set up some sort of Com company in Baja. What gives?
Proud husband of a legal immigrant.
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Minnow
Richard, In your original post you made it seem like you just wanted to make a few calls on a trip. The many questions now make it seem like you want
to set up some sort of Com company in Baja. What gives? |
JZ posted some interesting information on the Cingular NA plan. It sounds like the Cingular NA plan could be even better than Ladatel, at least as a
backup alternative to Gizmo, and maybe even preferable to Gizmo.
As I read JZ's post, it seems he is saying that Cingular's coverage is better than Verizon's. I'm wondering if he is talking only about non-remote
coverage, say, in cities and immediately along highways. Or is the coverage also generally better for remote areas as well? If you have some
technical knowledge on these things, good answers to these questions are good to have.
One of my main interests in visiting Baja is in visitng Baja's wilderness areas. But if Cingular's coverage in remote areas of the U.S. (e.g.,
Nevada) is significantly better than Verizon's, I'd consider that a very substantial plus in favor of getting the Cingular NA plan, even if I can't
use cellular in Baja's remote areas. I could at least make Cingular cell phone calls from the small towns along Mex 1, if I understand correctly. It
depends a lot on the comparison for rather remote areas in the U.S. western states.
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Minnow
Richard, In your original post you made it seem like you just wanted to make a few calls on a trip. The many questions now make it seem like you want
to set up some sort of Com company in Baja. What gives? |
Minnow, one of the things I've discovered about trying to take care of business on the telephone in the U.S. is that, although one hopes that only one
phone call will do the trick, very often all sort of problems occur.
For example: The person you are trying to talk with has extremely limited knowledge about what you're interested in. So you need to talk to someone
else. Sometimes, the place you call is extremely busy. So you get placed on hold. Sometimes you get accidentaly disconnected. Then you've got to
try to decide whether you should try to talk to the same person or maybe try for someone else who has the technical knowledge to take care of the
business at hand.
Technical "hang-ups" abound. So it's very good to know about alternatives.
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JZ
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9407
Registered: 10-3-2003
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Cingular's roaming partner in Mexico is Telcel, which will give you the broadest possible coverage. I've had coverage in nearly every place I've been
in Baja. On the mainland, you have complete coverage along the 250 mile stretch from Nogales to San Carlos. Verizon's coverage is hit or miss.
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RICHARDH
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 11-15-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
Cingular's roaming partner in Mexico is Telcel, which will give you the broadest possible coverage. I've had coverage in nearly every place I've been
in Baja. On the mainland, you have complete coverage along the 250 mile stretch from Nogales to San Carlos. Verizon's coverage is hit or miss.
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Many thanks, JZ
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joel
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I just called Cingular, asked to set-up an account for my Arizona "address" and was told that the free roaming in Canada and Mexico plan has been
discontinued.
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